MP’s Vyapam had refused to let applicants without UID take test despite not making it must

The Madhya Pradesh government will hold new tests for nearly 60,000 people who applied for jobs as police constables but were not allowed to participate in the process because they did not have Aadhaar cards.

The state’s unified recruitment agency, the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) said on Saturday it will release new admit cards, after incorrectly refusing tens of thousands participation in the process despite not making Aadhaar mandatory.

In the tests held between August 19 and September 18, 9 lakh aspirants appeared from across the country for the constable job opening.

On the first day, at least 10,000 couldn’t take the test despite showing up at centres. Some alleged they were denied entry since they didn’t have Aadhar card while others said they did, but were unable to get their identity verified because of a problem on UIDAI’s website.

“I had come to appear in the test with all my documents including voter-ID and driving license for verification but I was denied entry in the exam hall as I didn’t have Aadhaar Card. When I fought with authorities standing there as Aadhaar was not compulsory, they threatened that I would be handed over to police. I lodged a complaint later at Vyapam office”, said Shailendra Singh, who travelled from Agra.

Vyapam is the Hindi acronym for the MPPEB.

After initially being silent about the problem, Vyapam said tests will be held again on September 27 and 28.

“I am happy that I will get another chance to appear in the test. Otherwise, Vyapam has left no room for spoiling my career,” said Maithli Sharma, a candidate.

The Vyapam examination controller SKS Bhadoriya said, “As large number of students went for login at the same time, the server crashed. It happens with the sites of other departments too. Now, students will be allowed to appear in the test on the basis of biometric verification”, he said